


Who Let the Dogs Out?

by badcaseofcasey



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Awesome Laura Hale, Derek has horses, M/M, This is based on that adorable Budweiser commercial, stiles has a dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 20:29:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2242512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badcaseofcasey/pseuds/badcaseofcasey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles' dog really likes Derek's horses. The only problem is, Derek really doesn't like Stiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who Let the Dogs Out?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theratchild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theratchild/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift for my most amazing friend, Madeleine (theratchild), whom I love very much. I hope you like this story half as much as I like you!
> 
> PS, I would like to apologize for the horrible title.  
> PPS, this is non-betaed. So, bear with me.

“Mal!” Stiles yelled, walking through the rooms of his house, looking anywhere his crazy dog could be hiding. “Mal, I’ve got food for you, where are you?” Stiles stopped, resting his hands on his hips. “Come on, you normally almost kill yourself trying to get to your food bowl, where are you?”

Just when Stiles was ready to go looking for Mal outside, the doorbell rang and he opened it, leash in hand, to find a veritable Adonis standing on his doorstep.

“Hi,” Stiles said, more of a gasp than anything.

“I think this belongs to you,” the Adonis said, and it was only then that Stiles noticed the wiry bundle in the man’s arms.

“Mal!” Stiles exclaimed, looking at how content his supposed best friend looked to be in the stranger’s arms, tongue lolling out as he panted happily. Stiles had to remind himself that it was irrational to be jealous of his own dog. “Thank you so much, he likes to get out and explore. I’ve tried to stop him, but the only thing people can ever suggest is an electric fence, and I just can’t do that to Mal.”

Mr. Behold the Beauty of my Biceps gave Stiles a look that someone managed to be both incredibly hot and very intimidating, all with an armful of scruffy terrier.

“He was in the pasture with a few of my grays,” Attractive Horse Guy said. “Luckily they don’t scare easily, but I could do without the hole in my fence.”

“I’m sorry,” Stiles said, accepting his bundle of joy from his neighbor. “I can’t exactly promise it won’t happen again, but I’ll at least try to stop him. He’s kind of a free spirit, as you can probably tell, and he seems to take after his owner with his ADD, so, sorry in advance.”

“How did you know to bring him here?” Stiles asked. “I only just moved here, I haven’t had a chance to get him new tags.”

“It says your name on the tag,” he said, and did he really have to be wearing nothing but a tank top and jeans? Really? Was that entirely necessary? “I figured you’d be moving into the Stilinski place, since you have the same last name.”

“Oh, cool,” Stiles said. “Have you met my dad? He’s pretty great. This property belonged to my mom’s family and when she died, I guess it got left to us, but he’s just been renting it out until I wanted it – and you don’t care, okay.”

The newcomer began walking away halfway through Stiles’ explanation, apparently having decided that his duty was done.

“Nice meeting you!” Stiles called, sarcasm creeping into his neighborly tone.

He walked inside, turning and setting Mal on the ground, but only after closing the door – he wasn’t about to let him escape again. Mal, seemingly completely unaffected by his adventure into the great unknown, scampered into the kitchen and straight to his food bowl.

“Mal, I know you like horses, but could you maybe try not pissing off the hot neighbor?” Stiles said, leaning against the counter that was covered in boxes. “I know when we came out here with Scott you could go visit the Campbells’ horses, but that’s because they loved you, and it would seem that our new neighbor isn’t a fan. So, let’s try to stay on our property, okay?”

Stiles looked at Mal to gauge his understanding of the new rules. Mal just looked up from his now empty bowl and gave him a dopey grin and cocked his head to the side before scampering into the other room.

“Well, can’t say I didn’t try,” Stiles muttered, moving into the kitchen to unpack enough dishes to eat breakfast off of. He’d only moved in yesterday and he’d mostly just passed out after he thanked Scott for his help moving boxes, so pretty much nothing was unpacked. He had decided it was time to get a house, as he was a real adult with a job and bills and an apartment he had shared with his ex that was just _painful_ to live in after the breakup.

So, he moved. It turns out his dad had been saving his grandfather’s house on the outskirts of Beacon Hills, renting it out until he could give it to Stiles when he had a family, but the chance of that happening anytime soon was slim to none. So, Stiles had given his father the biggest hug of his life, took him out for a rare diner hamburger and milkshake, and officially pardoned him from giving him a wedding gift when (if, really) Stiles actually got married.

The house was out in the part of Beacon Hills that was almost entirely farms and ranches. He had mostly never been out there since he was a kid, except for a few times when Scott had a house, (or well, farm) call when one of the Campbells’ horses got sick. The Campbells had been close with Stiles’ mom’s family and it was still fun to go see them whenever it was convenient. But he always had good memories of the area with his grandparents and his mother, and it just felt right to move out there. He felt calm and at peace for nearly the first time since Craig had walked out the front door, suitcase in hand.

Stiles had honestly thought he had found the person he was going to spend the rest of his life with. They had met in grad school and hit it off, spending nearly all their time together. They had bought an apartment together in downtown Berkeley after two and a half years together. Stiles had thought to himself at the time that if I’m going to marry anyone, it’s going to be Craig. But six months later, Stiles had come home from his work at the university press to find Craig’s things packed neatly away into suitcases and Craig was telling him he’d met someone else.

Stiles had always fallen in love with his whole self, which was, apparently, the problem. “You put everything you have into our relationship!” Craig had said, slightly hysterical. “It’s suffocating! And you need to find someone who will appreciate that instead of wish you’d spend less time with them.”

Stiles had tried to go on as he was, going to work at the university press, taking Mal out for walks. But Stiles had soon realized that the reason he had poured himself so entirely into his and Craig’s relationship was because he had nothing else. His job was unfulfilling, his friends were all boring academics who had no interest in _truly_ getting to know him and in short, there was nothing keeping him there.

So, he left; he went back home to Beacon Hills, to his family and his friends who meant something to him. And, he was finally going to do what he’d gone to grad school to do and teach. He had a position at the local elementary that he had gone to himself, which, he had no idea why they took him back after firsthand experience of him as a child.

Stiles decided he was starting over completely. He was hoping to have made a better first impression on his neighbor, but oh well; he’d bring over some baked goods later.

Stiles jerked up from where he had paused in taking dishes out of boxes, deep in his thoughts, when his cell phone rang.

“Hey, dad,” Stiles said, grabbing his cell phone.

“Hey, son,” Sheriff Stilinski said. “You settling in okay? Have you unpacked anything yet or did you just fall asleep with the TV on?”

“Come on, Dad,” Stiles said. “I’m an adult now. Of course I unpacked some things.”

“Were those things your TV and couch?”

Stiles sighed and rolled his eyes. “No, they were the bedding. And some dishes. But no, I haven’t unpacked much yet. I was exhausted yesterday and I’m only just having breakfast.”

“You had time to get groceries, but not to come over and say hello to your old man?”

“Aw, come on dad, don’t be like that,” “Stiles said. “You know I love you, but a man’s gotta eat.”

“Do you want to eat breakfast at the diner instead of having to eat in your kitchen full of unpacked boxes?” his dad asked, knowing Stiles couldn’t resist the pull of the diner’s hash browns.

“Fine, as long as you eat turkey bacon.”

Stiles pulled up to the diner to see the cruiser already parked in its usual spot and smiled. His dad had probably already claimed their table, the one they used to sit in when diner breakfasts on Saturdays were a weekly tradition.

“Hey, Barb,” Stiles said as he walked into the diner. “How’s it hanging?”

“Slightly to the left.” Barb had worked at the diner since Stiles was a kid, so she was practically family at this point. “Is it true you’re coming back to stay?”

“Yep, I moved into Pop’s old house and everything,” Stiles said, accepting the bone crushing hug. “And get this, they’re letting me shape the minds of our youth.”

“Oh, I know you’ll be a great teacher,” Barb said. “Besides, we can only hope you have a kid as difficult as you were as some sort of karma.”

Stiles laughed and pulled away. “My dad in the usual spot?”

“Yeah, go on back, hon.”

Stiles found his dad sitting in their booth reading the paper and it was such a familiar sight that it almost made Stiles want to cry. “Hey, old man.”

“Stiles!” His dad stood and wrapped him up in a bear hug; Stiles didn’t mean to be biased or anything, but his dad gave literally the best hugs. “You got here just in time to witness me ordering turkey bacon.”

“Oh, good,” Stiles laughed. “I wouldn’t want to miss that.”

They caught up over their egg white omelets and turkey bacon and Stiles couldn’t help smiling at the fact that this would be a regular thing now.

“What’s got you so smiley?” the sheriff asked. “Not that I’m not glad you’re happy.”

“I just realized how much I missed this,” Stiles smiled at his dad. “I think moving back was the best decision I’ve made in a while.”

“Beacon Hills not too boring for you?”

“I’ve already lost my dog to a horse ranch and had him returned by my grumpy neighbor,” Stiles said, picking up a huge pile of hash browns. “How much more exciting can you get?”

“So you met Derek,” his dad said, nodding in understanding.

“You know my neighbor?” Stiles asked, eyebrows shooting up.

“I’ve essentially been the landlord of a rental property next door to his for the past 10 years, of course I know him,” he said, tone implying Stiles needed to some sort of remedial education. “I don’t think there was a single tenant he didn’t call me to complain about.”

“You didn’t think you should warn me _before_ I pissed him off?” Stiles asked, slightly annoyed that his dad had kept the information about his hot but grumpy neighbor from him.

“Stiles, yours and Derek’s personalities don’t exactly mesh,” he said, trying to be his version of delicate. “Derek’s more of a strong, silent type and he isn’t a huge fan of people in general. You’ve never met a stranger and you love to talk. I figured you annoying him was a bit of an inevitability, no offense, and I didn’t want you to stress out about it.”

Stiles huffed and stabbed a grape out of his fruit salad, perhaps a bit more violently than necessary. “I’m a _delight_ ,” He said, pointing the grape at his father menacingly.

“Hey, I’m not arguing that,” the sheriff said, holding his hands up defensively. “I’m just saying Derek doesn’t really think **anyone** is a delight.”

“And you let me move in next door to him?”

“Look, if you ever need to deal with Derek, call Laura,” the sheriff pulled a paper out of his jacket he had hanging on the booth and writing down a phone number. “She’s his sister. She doesn’t work on the ranch, she’s a lawyer, but she’s a lot more reasonable and she and Derek are close. She’s good at talking sense into him, and convincing him not to torch the new tenant’s gazebo because it crosses the property line by three centimeters. She also does a lot of pro bono representation for people who can’t afford it.”

“You mean she helps people you’ve arrested get off?”

“No, I mean, she’s committed to getting sentences that fit the crime,” he said, wiping his mouth. “She’s tough, but she’s fair, and she’d never let a guilty man go free. She helps out on our side of things, too, every once in a while, but we really can’t afford her fee.”

Stiles sighed and took the paper. “All right, thanks. After this morning with Mal, I think direct contact with Derek might be ill-advised.”

They managed to get through breakfast without another mention of Derek, or his sister, for which Stiles was grateful. Though, truthfully, Stiles was more than a little intrigued by Derek. What made him how he is today? If he really hated people so much, why did he make the effort to return Mal to him this morning?

__

Stiles was starting to get annoyed. Mal had been excitable before, but something about living next to the Hale ranch was turning him into a nutcase. He refused to stay inside for longer than an hour or so, and Stiles had no idea how he lasted while Stiles was at work. The moment he got home, Mal was asking to go outside, and Stiles now had the pleasure of standing outside and watching his dog shit all over his lawn. Otherwise, he ended up visiting his not-so-friendly neighbor.

He’d gone a week with no Derek related incidents, and he was pretty proud of that fact, but then he was outside watching Mal, and he heard the oven timer go off. Now he had the choice between burnt dinner and having to deal with Derek and his eyebrows.

He fixed Mal with a warning look, telling him to stay there and pee and that in no circumstances was going over to visit the horses acceptable. But of course, upon returning from rescuing his dinner, his dog was nowhere to be found.

He trudged over to the Hale property and sighed as he found Derek in the barn, brushing down horses, and Mal happily trotting around his ankles.

“You might want to consider a fence. Or a leash,” Derek said turning to look at Stiles, his eyebrows very effectively conveying his disdain for Stiles as a pet owner.

“Maybe you should consider a dog-proof fence,” Stiles suggested, not so kindly.

“Why do I need one? I own horses, not a dog,” Derek said gruffly, moving to brush the other side of the tall chestnut horse, meaning he was now inches away from Stiles.

“I’m not bothered by Mal coming to see your horses – you’re the one who seems to have the problem.”

“No, my problem is with you,” Derek said, suddenly stopping his  brushing and turning to glare at Stiles. They were close enough to feel each other’s breath hot on their cheeks. “I don't recall inviting you into my barn. You just swan around in my space like you’re entitled to whatever your dog walks on.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you wanted me to come get my mangy dog away from your oh-so-perfect ponies,” Stiles said.

“I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear,” Derek said, his tone implying he wasn’t sorry at all. “I’m asking you to get the hell off my property.”

“You know what?” Stiles said, getting defensive now. “The first time we met, I tried to be friendly. I tried to be the neighbor that you could ask to watch your house if you went out of town, or that you could trust to bring the cups to your summer barbecue, but ever since my dog decided to go visit your horses, you’ve been nothing  but a huge dick to me, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why.”

“Why should I have to explain myself to you?” Derek said, gruffly.

“Maybe because I’m a human being?” Stiles said. “When was the last time you actually interacted with a human, other than your sister?”

Derek’s face went stony, all traces of emotion gone, and he turned away. “The last time I, how did you put it? Interacted with a human? My barn and my parents ended up as a pile of ash.”

Stiles pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, knowing that he had overstepped, but not really regretting it. He stood by what he said, Derek had been incredibly rude, dead family or not.

Instead of trying to justify himself, or apologizing without really meaning it, Stiles turned, clipped Mal’s leash into place, and walked back home.

___

Stiles had been unpacking his boxes of supplies into his new classroom to prepare for the school year when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up and saw a woman poking her head in the door and smiling.

“Stiles Stilinski?” she asked, her body following her head into the room. “I'm Laura Hale.”

Stiles’ eyes widened as she shook her outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you. How did you know I was here?”

“Likewise. And it’s an In-Service day,” she said. “So you’re the guy who’s been terrorizing my little brother?” It sounded like there was a question in there somewhere, but Stiles didn’t really know how to answer.

“You’re not here to tell me Derek’s pressing trespassing charges, are you?”

“No, I’m not,” Laura laughed, her demeanor casual and at ease, but with an intensity that made you want to pay attention. Stiles saw how she could be a good lawyer. “I just wanted to come see what kind of guy could get my brother riled up like that.”

Stiles scoffed. “You mean that’s not just his normal sunny disposition?”

“No, he’s still a huge grump most of the time,” Laura said. “But he rarely cares to learn peoples’ names. Or rant about them more than once. You seem to have gotten under his skin.”

Stiles resumed unpacking his supplies. “I’m proud to have earned that distinction.”

“You should be.”

Stiles looked up at Laura with his eyebrows raised.

“Derek doesn’t let people in,” Laura said. “Not anymore. I think you know why.”

“How does complaining about me more than once mean he’s letting me in?”

“It means you’ve wormed your way under his defenses,” Laura said. “The way he talks about you, the way he tries to justify himself when it comes to what you say to him – it’s almost like he really does care what you think about him.”

Stiles looked at Laura, trying to figure her out. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Just – look, don’t let his grumpy personality stop you from getting to know him,” Laura said. “He needs someone to trust again. And so help me god, if you hurt one hair on his head –”

“Wait, hold up,” Stiles said, throwing up his hands in surrender. “How am I getting the overprotective sibling talk for a guy who doesn’t even like me?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Laura says, exasperated. “He likes you. Don’t fuck it up.”

And with that, she walked out of the room, heels clicking as she walked down the tile hallway.

___

So, when Stiles got home that night, he got ready to attach Mal’s leash to his collar before taking him outside, as he had ever since he and Derek’s last interaction, he paused. He wasn’t sure he didn’t want Mal to run off to Derek’s. He can’t deny that the more Stiles learned about Derek, the more interested he was in getting to know him. So, after taking a moment to collect himself, Stiles opened the door and let Mal run free, without a leash.

It was about then that Stiles realized the flaw in his plan. He couldn’t exactly follow Mal as he ran away – that would imply that he had planned it or that he knew it was going to happen, neither of which would make Derek very happy. So he started pacing, checking his watch about every ten seconds trying to determine what an acceptable time frame would be for realizing your dog was missing.

Right about when he decided that he could set out towards Derek’s house, the doorbell rang.

Stiles opened the door ready to brush off whoever it was so he could go talk to Derek, but stopped in his tracks at the sight of what waited for him.

“I think this is yours?” Derek said, holding Mal out over the threshold, but the normal frown and anger weren’t there. He looked… shy?

Stiles smiled and accepted his dog, letting him run back into the house happily. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Stiles said, deciding whether or not to go for it. Finally settling on, fuck it, we’ll do it live, he said, “So, I had an interesting conversation with Laura the other day.”

Derek reached up to rub his neck awkwardly. “Yeah, I heard about that.”

Stiles cocked his head and looked at Derek’s shy smile curiously. It almost seemed out of place with the image he’d built up of Derek in his head. It was almost… cute?

“Look, I don’t know what Laura told you, and I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable or whatever, but I can’t really, um, help it.”

“Wow,” Stiles said, coming out of his thoughts. “I think that’s the most you’ve ever said to me without yelling at me.”

Derek’s face fell and he sighed. “Okay, then.” He started to walk off Stiles’ porch, but Stiles shot out a hand to keep him from leaving.

“Wait, that was the wrong thing to say,” Stiles said, mentally replaying the conversation that just happened and realizing what he’d said. “Okay, let’s start over. Not just this conversation, but like… from the beginning. Hi, I’m Stiles. I’m you’re neighbor.”

Derek looked up at Stiles, the corner of his lips turning up slightly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Derek.”

“Derek,” Stiles said, shaking his hand and buzzing at the heat that shot up his arm from that simple touch. “Would you like to come in and have a coffee?”

Derek smiled, and seeing his eyes light up like that kind of melted Stiles' heart. "Yeah, I'd like that."


End file.
